


No Rest For The Wicked

by spooky_time



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:21:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24324970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spooky_time/pseuds/spooky_time
Summary: Madeline isn't a hero, she didn't ask to be The Herald, nor The Inquisitor. Infact, she openly objects to the titles - but, fate is a cruel mistress. The only survivor of the Conclave, she awakes with a strange mark, now facing demons, rifts, battling across Thedas, Madeline must brave trials, betrayal and quite possibly, her death. All Madeline wanted to do was find her sister, but nothing ever works out the way it's supposed to.**a poor description, but please, give it a read, it'll be worth it. i promise!
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford x original character, Original Character x Dorian Pavus
Kudos: 5





	1. Wrath of Heaven

**Author's Note:**

> so, i know there might be a lot of questions, but, i swear, the story will pretty much tell you everything. it's been heavy on my mind for a while, so, yeah. this is it! hope you enjoy.

The cold stone dug into her knees, body wracked with a deep ache, Madeline let out a soft groan and went to rub her head, but was stopped short by the tugging of chains. Blue eyes snapped to attention, a frantic, panicked gaze struck the dungeon. Fear gripped her heart, pulling it into the abyss that formed in her stomach. There was a flash of light however, before she could investigate the strange glow that marred her hand, the door before her swung open, hitting the stone behind it with an impressive thud. It echoed deep within the room, causing Madeline to wince in pain. _Maker’s breath_ , everything hurt. Metal sung against metal, swords being unsheathed, each point dangerously aimed at Madeline and a fresh wave of panic swept through her body. She yanked against the chains and scurried backwards, a vain attempt to put distance between herself and the approaching figures. 

Two, imposing women stood before her, they looked familiar but Madeline couldn’t recall _why_ exactly. _Where am I? What’s going on?_ These questions and more sprung forward, but never managed to escape. Getting stuck in her throat, all she could do was stare upwards, had she finally been caught? Her family had done their best to keep her away from templars. _No,_ she could tell.. this.. this was different. Madeline forced herself from the floor, best she could, however, she only achieved the kneeling position. The questions she’d been choking on finally spilled from her lips, one at first, then many others followed.

“Where am I? Who’re you? What’s going on?” The two women brushed her frenzied questions off, and instead glowered down at their chained captive. She looked a lot younger now, cheeks streaked with dirt, cracked bottom lip painted with a dark crimson. Her left brow was split. Cassandra hadn’t taken into account the damage that happened to their young prisoner, in her rage she’d seen nothing but a murderer, but now? She felt a slight pang of guilt and against better judgment subtly motioned for the guards to ease. 

“Explain _that,_ ” Cassandra’s voice carried throughout the dungeon. It was then Madeline remembered the green mark on her hand, growing ever silent, she pulled the appendage from the stone and brought it up to her face. It hurt, quite a bit. But this pain was far different than what she’d experienced elsewhere. It was like her nerves were on fire, how hadn’t she noticed this sooner? The mark flared, sending green sparks, a morbid and painful light show. Madeline gritted her teeth, bearing the pain as it spread through her hand and up her arm.

“I.. don’t know what _this_ is, Maker’s ass, _I don’t even know where I am!”_ Another pointed look, one she saw and chose to ignore.”Care to explain _this?”_ Madeline rattled the chains around her wrist. Cassandra merely sighed her response and yanked the manacles upwards, causing Madeline to stumble to her feet. Interested eyes fled downwards when she realized what Cassandra was doing. The chains were replaced with rope, honestly, Madeline preferred the latter. 

“Go to the forward camp, Lelianna, I will meet you there.” With that, the silent woman departed, not before glancing backwards, a knowing look in her eye. Madeline shrugged it off, trying her best to not think about it. As Cassandra led her outside, she was momentarily blinded by the brightness. Squinting against the sun reflecting off the snow, her gaze was caught on the massive, glowing vortex that swirled in the sky. Just looking at it made her skin crawl, she wanted nothing more than to retreat back inside, and avoid ever looking at it again, but alas, Cassandra had other plans.

“Andraste’s lily-white _ass_ what _is_ that?!” Madeline tugged against the reigns, but Cassandra held fast, she sent a pointed look her way. Once more she chose to ignore it, and gesture wildly to the sky. 

“You’re seeing that, too, right?”

“We’re calling it the breach-” The mark on her hand flaired to life once more, Madeline yelped in both suprise and pain, knees giving out from beneath her. Her body hit the ground. Letting out a string of curses, each one worse and more blasphemous than the last. 

“The breach, it’s expanding, as is your mark and it _is_ killing you.” She mentally prepared herself to hear _more_ blasphemy, but the prisoner was silent. Blue eyes wide, terrified.

“You think I would do this, _to myself?_ Seeker, I am a lot of things, but stupid, is most certainly not one of them.” 

“That remains to be seen,” she brushed off the affronted look and continued on, “however, that mark, and _you_ are our only chance, _your_ only chance.” Madeline took a deep steadying breath and stood, she denied Cassandra’s hand and looked skywards once more.

“Well, shit.. Let’s go then.” 

The two walked in awkward and tense silence. Madeline was far too distracted by her own thoughts, the lingering pain in her hand, she wanted to do nothing more than crawl into a deep, dark hole and stay there. Away from angry seekers, sneaky bird woman and andraste’s _tits_ why was it so _fucking_ cold? Her thoughts silenced themselves, quite suddenly too. The abrupt mental change caused her to stagger over her own feet, but she didn’t realize why exactly, until her eyes met that of a dead mage. He was slumped over, an arrow deep in his chest. The robes he wore were stained a familiar crimson. Madeline let out silent gasp before averting her gaze elsewhere, but quite honestly, it wasn’t much better. It seemed their trail was littered with the dead, or dying. Wagons burning, soldiers brandishing weapons skyward, as if that was going to help at all. Two men, clad in a uniform Madeline had never seen before ran downhill, screaming about the end of the world. The scene was awfully familiar, but, with a secret glance towards her stern jailor, she could tell the comment would be far from appreciated. 

Madeline stride came to a sudden halt, the mark on her hand flared, sending a wave of excruciating pain throughout her body. Her legs gave out, she clutched her wrist, in a vain attempt to ease the pain, it didn’t work. Madeline didn't refuse Cassandra’s hand this time. 

“Thanks..” She muttered, glaring skywards, feeling a little bit like the soldiers from before. The action held no merit, but was still rather satisfying in its own right. 

“The pulses.. They're coming a bit faster now..” Cassandra muttered, “the larger the breach grows, the more demons we face..”

“Well..” Madeline huffed, “let’s fix that, shall we?” The grin she wore on her face was a bit uneasy, but if she’d learned anything on her time on earth, that it was best to face danger with a smile, thumb the abyss, even when you were unsure as to what you were going to face. She quickly disregarded Cassandra’s strange gaze and walked ahead. Before the two could properly cross the bridge, there was a thunderous boom - Madeline _felt_ the path give way before she actually heard it. As they hit the frozen lake, she clutched her head, groaning in pain. It seemed she wouldn’t be catching a break anytime soon. Another crash, Cassandra calling something over her shoulder. Madeline waved dismissively her direction and went back to cradling her head. She was perfectly content in letting the Seeker take over, that was until a demon slowly materialized in front of her, letting out a string of blasphemes, Madeline scrambled to her feet. She could feel the thrum of magic running through her veins, manifesting as fire on her hands, logic won out however, as she quickly assessed the situation, she was already being accused of tearing a giant arsehole in the sky, add the fact she was a _mage_ in the mix. That was a swift execution just waiting to happen. Snuffing out the flames, Madeline reached for a sword. It was heavy, far heavier than she was accustomed too. Imbuing the blade with magic, she joined Cassandra in the fight. It seemed to end as quickly as it began, now, the Seeker had turned her blade onto Madeline herself. 

“Drop your weapon, _now._ “ 

“Well gee, you’re welcome” Madeline sent a pointed look towards Cassandra, who didn’t seem to appreciate the little jab. “Okay, listen, you can’t protect both of us, I’m saving you the effort.” Cassandra was silent, mulling over her options before turning away.

“Fine.. I cannot expect you to be defenseless… and I should remember you agreed to come willingly” Madeline grinned and slung the blade over her shoulder.

“Willingly and straight into danger, why would anyone prefer otherwise?” Ignoring the muttered musings of a disapproving seeker, Madeline persevered forward. Seemingly unperturbed by the chaos unfolding around her. Honestly, it felt like home, save for the demons raining from the sky and… the dead men and women lining the ground. Perhaps it wasn’t like home at all, regardless, she’d offered her aid - perhaps in a roundabout way, but nonetheless, the offer had been made. Trudging through the snow in tense silence made for poor travels. Madeline wasn’t one to sit in silence, but her stern faced companion didn’t seem to be interested in making idle conversation. Thus they continued their trekk in silence, something Madeline was entirely unaccustomed too. Her adventures were usually filled with the idle prattle of friends and family. 

“We’re getting close to the rift, you can hear the fighting,” Madeline furrowed her brows, intently listening for the sound. 

“Who’s fighting?” The Seeker didn’t have the chance to answer, as the two rounded the corner, there were a few soldiers, robed in the same uniform as before, as well as two others, locked in battle with demons who were continually fighting their way from the strange.. Rift? Whatever, Madeline heaved the sword from her shoulder and jumped into action, completely focused on the fighting, aiding the tired soldiers, as she neared the green tear, cool fingers wrapped around her wrist and yanked upwards, Madeline clenched her fist and ripped her hand away from the man, in doing so, she closed the rift as well. 

_“_ Andraste’s tits! Give a girl some warning before you do shit like… _that.”_ Madeline gestured wildly towards the now clear pathway. The elf who’d grabbed her arm only smiled and copied her, though his movements were far less frantic. 

“I did nothing, the credit is yours.”

“So this thing can seal those _things?”_

“Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake – and it seems I was correct.”

“Meaning it could also close the Breach.”

“Possibly - It seems you hold the key to our salvation.” Madeline bristled slightly, but before she could openly voice her objection, a voice - one that’d read her stories as a child, regaled her with tales of her sister, comforted her in the loss of her mother, sister and brother.. 

“Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever.” Madeline slowly turned to face her old friend, and when she did, the surprise on his features was quite evident. 

“Andraste’s ass kid, is that really you? You’ve gotten _tall.”_ Madeline couldn’t help but stumble forward and wrap the dwarf in a hug. 

“Varric, I thought. I mean you just.. Everyone just _left.”_

“Can someone explain _what_ is going on?” Cassandra’s voice brought Madeline and Varic back to the present, suddenly aware that they weren’t alone.

“Well.. Cassandra, you never really asked my name.” Madeline couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, “Madeline _Hawke,_ at your service.. Heard you were looking for my sister? **Well, me too.”**


	2. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little preface, i've cut some of the dialogue from the game. i'm assuming that, if you're reading this, you're familiar with intro, and would rather not bore you with a rehash of the game's introduction. besides, madeline's personality doesn't fit with some of the original pc lines and i imagine that the other character would react rather differently regarding such. 
> 
> anyway, i'm really excited for this story - comments, and kudos are highly appreciated. also, if you have any ideas, drop'em below, they might find their way into the story.

_ "Madeline Hawke, at your service,” _ she wore an enormous grin, blue eyes shimmering, even in the lackluster rays of sunshine. Cassandra could scarcely believe it. Was this a cruel prank? A jest at her expense? 

_"_ “Well,” Madeline muttered, rocking on her heels, “shall we?” clapping Varric on the shoulder one last time, she began walking. Despite the bridge ahead being blocked off, there was a narrow path to the side, boarded by weak wooden planks. Giving them a quick shake, testing their strength, she tossed the long sword first, then leapt over. Casting a brief glance over her shoulder, waiting for Cassandra to take point. Despite her show of confidence, Madeline was unsure where they were going and loathed the idea of leading, especially in the mountains. Give her a city, and she’d give you a tour, but surprise, surprise, mountainous regions left her turned around. 

_"_ “How d'you get this far out kid?” The familiar nickname carried a sense of comfort. Briefly side-eyeing the dwarf, Madeline shrugged.

_"_ “It’s a long story, not the best time to get into it.”

_"_ “ _Kid_ …” Huffing slightly, knowing he wouldn’t let it go, she gave him the quick version.

_"_ “Well, I might’ve been doing a little adventuring of my own. Got caught up in some stuff, one thing led to another, and bada-bing-bada-boom, I’m here. Can’t tell you much more. Sorry..” With that she walked ahead, doing her best to avoid any more conversation about why she was in the ass end of Thedas. It wasn’t a pleasant story, not one she was in the mood to recount. As the group continued to forge ahead, Madeleine was, for once in her life, content in the silence. 

_"_ “Demons, ahead!” 

_"_ “Glad you brought me now, Seeker?”

The frozen riverbed made for a difficult fight. Several times Madeline almost lost her footing. Eventually, she used the treacherous environment to her advantage, running into an uneasy slide, slicing into a demon that’d snuck up behind the elf. She gave the man a cheesy grin before dashing off in the opposite direction, to those looking upon, it appeared as if she was enjoying herself, but in reality, her inner monologue was a stream of,  _ what the fuck, what the fuck - _ however, amid battle, each swing had to be confident, assured. She couldn’t, more so,  _ wouldn’t  _ risk the possibility of getting herself or others injured because of her carelessness. As the battle ended, each individual began checking themselves over for injuries, Madeline heaved the enormous sword over her shoulder and took a deep, steadying breath. It’d been a long time since she’d engaged in a fight with any substance. Bandits here and there, a few rouge mages, templars. Pirates..  _ lots of pirates..  _

_"_ “Everyone alright?” Madeline turned to face the group, cheeks red as the Chantry’s cloth.

**_"_** “Kid?” Varric’s brown eyes were locked on her right arm, “how the hell did that happen?” Reaching up, cool fingertips brushed against a deep, burning gash. The flimsy armor she’d woken up in had done little to protect her in the fight. 

_"_ “Let’s… just..” Madeline’s vision swam, the world tilting, throwing her off balance, she stumbled to the side before regaining her balance. “Let’s just go, alright?” Before they could continue any further, the mark flared up, sending an agonizing tide of pain throughout her arm. Echoing from her hand, up into her shoulder. Madeline stumbled, barely catching herself in time. Avoiding a face full of snow, she hardly missed the concerned look Varric sent her way.

_"_ “Shit, are you alright?” Gritting her teeth, Madeline held back a biting remark. It wasn’t his fault she was in this situation, but the irritation was building to an unbearable crescendo. She was ready to snap at the next person who asked a stupid question. 

_"_ “Let’s go,” with that, she pushed ahead. Despite her body protesting each movement, chest heaving with every step.

_"_ “So..” Varric muttered, he was doing his best to keep up with her hurried pace but was falling a few steps behind. “There’s no way you did this, right?”

_"_ “I don’t know,” her answer was curt, non-conversational. Madeline loved Varric, truly. He’d been one of her best friends in Kirkwall, but she still felt betrayed. He’d left. So did her sister, Carver was dead - or… so she’d been told. Lost in the deep roads. With very little family left, and those who remained abandoning her. Madeline was harboring some very bitter feelings towards those in her life. Especially the dwarf, Varric knew where Allison had gone, but when he vanished, so did she. 

_"_ “Have I taught you nothing? Shoulda spun a story.”

_"_ “That’s what you would’ve done,” the Seeker’s voice cut into their conversation, giving Madeline the perfect opportunity to walk ahead. 

_"_ “It’s definitely more believable, and less prone to result in premature execution.” 

* * *

_"_ The forward camp was hardly deserving of its name. Battered, beaten soldiers slumped on the ground, corpses of Mages and Templars alike lay covered, respectfully with a white cloth. Wagons with burnt, ruined canvases, there were fires barely lit, warming the few men and women who surrounded them. Discarded weapons, shields glinting in the snow light. As the gate closed behind the group, a sense of finality fell upon her shoulders. The lady from before - _ Leliana? Was that her name? -  _ Robed in gorgeous purples, head covered, cloth held in place by a Chantry pin, was arguing with a red-faced official. 

_"_ “Ah, the wise guidance of the Chantry, here to send us off I suppose?” Varric could hardly stifle his chuckle. It’d barely been two years since he’d last seen Madeline, but she seemed to remain the same. Quick tongue, always saying the wrong thing - on purpose it seemed. 

_ "“You -”  _

_"_ “Madeline,” she cut him off, wearing a crooked grin. “Mad-a-line.  _ Continue. _ ” The official’s face burned brighter. She had to curtail the desire to make another comment, this time, regarding the color of his face.  _ Careful ser, your cheeks are matching your robes. _

_"_ “You have already caused enough trouble.”

_"_ “Who?”

_ "“You!” _ An accusatory finger pointed her way, and Madeline couldn’t help herself. Her mouth would not serve her well, but it was just too easy.

_"_ “I don’t know a ‘you’ Ser, I know a Seeker, Varric, Solas,” Madeline counted her companions on her fingers, “oh and me, Madeline.” 

_"_ “Enough!” Roderick was fuming and Madeline couldn’t be more than happy with that result.

_"_ “So, the breach…-”

_"_ “You brought this upon us in the first place,” 

_"_ Me?” Fist clenched, nails digging into the flesh of her palm. Madeline turned her steely gaze on Roderick, slamming her hands onto the table. She leaned in, lips curled into a cruel sneer, “the conclave wouldn’t have even been needed if your lot treated mages and templars like people and not tools to be used, or monsters to be feared-” She would have continued her rant, finally finding the perfect person to unleash her cold, ungovernable anger upon. But the mark seared into her flesh raged to life, setting her nerves alight - Madeline clenched her jaw once more, partly to keep herself from swearing, another to cut the scream of pain from escaping her lips. Once it had settled down, she stumbled backwards and steeled herself. Squaring shoulders, blue eyes turning towards Cassandra. 

_"_ “Let’s go already, I won’t survive long enough for your trial. Whatever needs to happen, it’s gotta happen now.” With that, Madeline departed. Unwilling to listen to anymore arguing. As the group finally caught up, Varric nudged her uninjured shoulder gently. 

_"_ “Hey, kid.. Do me a favor? Never change.”  
__


End file.
